MADISON (WKOW) -- Nearly two dozen testified to the lawmakers on the election committee with many participants claiming voter fraud, without evidence, and others seeking to reform election laws.
It's been over a month since the election and weeks since the state declared Joe Biden the winner in Wisconsin, but Republicans on the Assembly Election and Campaigns Committee are not satisfied. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos asked the committee to investigate the election and how it was administered.
“We have pervasive law breaking going on by the very people interested to run our elections fair and square,” said Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, R-New Berlin, vice chair of the committee.
Over 20 people testified, a majority of them Republicans, all sharing a similar theme calling on lawmakers to change election laws.
Many also asked to hold election officials accountable after some filled in empty portions on absentee ballots, like a witnesses address.
"You have election officials who are willfully accepting ballots that are statutorily prohibited from being counted,” said Ken Dragotta, a member of the Republican party of Waukesha County.
Republican Commissioner on the State Elections Commission Dean Knudson also said reforms are necessary, such as how ballots are counted on election day as some votes are processed at polling places, others at a central location.
"While it offers greater efficiency and greater control there is a loss of transparency and it is a mess for election night reporting," said Knudson.
Democrats on the committee grew frustrated with the testimony after some speakers called the election fraudulent, without providing evidence.
“This hearing is a sham, you have not called the state's top election official and you only invited a bunch of partisan invitees… this is utterly ridiculous,” said Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison.
Chair of the Committee Rep. Ron Tussler told 27 News last week he wanted to hear testimony from the head of the State's Elections Commission Meagan Wolfe, but a WEC spokesman said she was not invited.
One by one, Democrats on the committee left -- some walking out and others leaving through a video call.
Rep. Sanfelippo suggested the committee’s work is far from over and said he is still hoping to subpoena other election officials to testify in the near future.
“Some of the things going on here are terrible and we are going to get to the bottom of it."
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